78 VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY Jesus had our nature; he became the Christ; so can we and so must we. Christ and Buddha were the names of a state to be attained ; Jesus and Gautama were the persons to manifest it. ' Mother ' is the first and highest manifestation, next the Christs and Buddhas. We make our own environment and we strike the fetters off. The Atman is the fearless. When we pray to a God outside, it is good ; only we do not know what we do. When we know the Self, we under- stand. The highest expression of love is unification. "There was a time when I was a woman and he was a man. Still love»grew until there was neither he nor ! ; Only I remember faintly there was a time when there were two, But love came between and made them one." —Persian Sufi Poem. Knowledge exists eternally and is co-existent with God. The man who discovers a spiritual law is inspired and what he brings is revelation, but revelation too is eternal, not to be crystallized as final and then blindly, followed. The Hindus have been criticised so many years by their conquerors that they (the Hindus) dare to criticise their religion themselves, and this